The due date for filing 2021 tax returns is Monday, April 18th.
A day not many Americans look forward to, here are ten facts about taxes that are a bit interesting, somewhat humorous and perhaps relevant.
- Ancient Greeks Griped About Taxes: Plato once said, “Where there is an income, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income.”
- Albert Einstein Didn’t Understand Taxes: The person who understood theoretical physics once said, “The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax>”
- Tax Prep Time Adds Up: In 2019 the IRS processed more than 154 million individual tax returns, equal to roughly 83.4 million days’ worth of preparation time.
- There’s A Double Standard on Diapers: Some states apply sales tax to children’s diapers because they are considered clothing. The same tax does not apply to adult diapers.
- Seven States Have No Income Tax: While Americans must pay a federal income tax, these seven states have no income tax – Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.
- Top 1 Percent Pay A Huge Chunk: The top 1% of American earners paid 37.3% of all federal individual income tax in 2020. The top 0.1% paid 18% of the total.
- Window Tax Darkened European Homes: In 1696 a window tax – based on the number of windows a home had – was introduced in England and Wales. As a result, some people bricked up the windows.
- There Could Have Been a 100% Income Tax: After the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt unsuccessfully proposed a 100% income tax, arguing that “no American citizen ought to have a net income, after he has paid his taxes, of more than $25,000 a year” (equal to about $419,400 today).
- Houston, He Had A Problem: Taking the place of another astronaut on the Apollo 13 mission, Jack Swigert neglected to file his taxes. During the flight, he radioed Houston asking how to file an extension.
- In Denmark, Taxes Can Cost More Than The Car: American car buyers pay sales tax and fee for registering a vehicle. Depending on the price of the car, Danes can pay a registration tax that is 150% of the sale price.
No matter what, April 18th is when federal income taxes are due.